2015 Patent Law Interview Program: Law Student Information

The Loyola Patent Law Interview Program is a two-day interview program held in Chicago each summer that brings together patent law employers and law students from across the country to interview for summer associate positions and post-graduate employment. The 2015 Patent Law Interview Program will be held on Thursday, July 30 & Friday, July 31 at the Embassy Suites Chicago - Downtown/Lakefront at 511 N. Columbus Drive in downtown Chicago.

Each year roughly 1,500 law students register for the program, submit their resumes, and bid on interviews with the nation-wide employers that interest them. The program is entirely employer selected - which means that participating employers review the resumes submitted to them and choose the law students they are interested in interviewing at the program. Roughly half of the students registered for the program are selected for interviews each year.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

For students, participation in the program takes place in three phases:

STEP 1: First, students register for the program online. Each student's law school then verifies the student's graduation date and status as a student in good standing. Once the verification is complete, all qualified students are given a Patent Symplicity account for bidding on interviews at the Patent Law Interview Program.

STEP 2: Once registered students have access to the Patent Symplicity site, they upload their resume and bid on the participating employers in which they are interested. The employers review the resumes submitted to them and select the students they wish to interview and alternate students to be scheduled in the event of cancellations or no-shows. Once the employers have selected the students they wish to interview, Symplicity generates interview schedules, which will be available on Symplicity on June 22. After a brief cancellation period, Symplicity will schedule students chosen by the employers as alternates into any interview slots opened up as the result of cancellations. Final interview schedules will be available on Symplicity on June 26.

STEP 3: Students who have been selected for interviews must register on-site at the interview hotel (Embassy Suites Chicago - Downtown/Lakefront) either the evening before their interview (4:00 pm - 7:00 pm) or the morning of their interviews (7:30 am - 8:30 am). The on-site registration requirement is MANDATORY and we will make no exceptions.

Students need only register once on-site to be considered registered for interviews on both days. Students who have not registered by 8:30 am on Thursday, July 30 will have all of their Thursday slots given to alternates; students who still have not registered by 8:30 am on Friday, July 31 will have all of their Friday interview slots given to alternates.

Alternate scheduling will take place in the registration room at 8:30 am each day, and all students selected as alternates who are interested in being scheduled for empty interview slots resulting from no-shows must be present in the registration room at that time.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Only law students are eligible to participate in the Patent Law Interview Program. It is not required that students be patent bar eligible to register for the program; however, many employers require patent bar eligibility as a qualification for bidding on interviews, and most employers strongly prefer patent bar eligible students. For more information on eligibility for the patent bar, please refer to the General Requirements Bulletin from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The 2015 Patent Law Interview Program will be accepting registrations from:

JD students graduating in May/June 2016 (3Ls)

JD students graduating in May/June 2017 (2Ls)

JD students graduating in December 2015/January 2016 (3Ls)

JD students graduating in December 2016/January 2017 (2Ls)

Students in Intellectual Property LLM programs with anticipated graduation dates in 2016 and 2017

Students who will graduate before the program is held in July/August 2015 and students who plan to graduate after May/June 2017 are not eligible for the 2015 Patent Law Interview Program.

STUDENT REGISTRATION

Student registration will be handled online again this year. Student registration will begin online on Monday, February 9 and end on Monday, March 9. Please be sure to register before the deadline as we will not be able to accept any late registrations!

There is a $35 registration fee for students. The student registration fee is NON-REFUNDABLE. Some schools opt to pay the registration fee for their students. Check with the career services office at your law school to determine whether or not you will need to pay the registration fee. If your law school does not pay the registration fee, you will need to pay the $35 fee with a credit card to complete your online registration.

HOTEL & TRAVEL INFORMATION

Additional information about reserving rooms at a special rate will be provided to registered students prior to the Patent Law Interview Program this summer.

Students should not make airline reservations before learning of their final interview schedules on June 26, as the interview schedules are subject to change up to that date. Please also note that any travel plans you make must accommodate the on-site registration requirement. Because you must register by 8:30 am on the day of your interviews, we do not recommend flying in the morning of your interviews. Even a short delay could cause you to miss on-site registration and forfeit all of your interviews for that day.

When making travel plans, students should also bear in mind that a few law firms choose to hold receptions on either Wednesday evening or Thursday evening. These receptions are an excellent networking opportunity, and we encourage all students to arrange their travel schedule to take advantage of these opportunities.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please contact the Patent Law Interview Program Liaison at your law school with any questions.